Halloween Ghost Trains and other Spooky Rides for LA Kids

So you've already been to the pumpkin patches, and you're ready to take Halloween to the next level; you're ready, in fact, to put it in motion. Well, we know several deadly ways to take this haunt on the road before it's time to trick-or-treat, with everything from an old-fashioned train ride through fields of pumpkins, to a spooky tour through the bowels of a haunted ship, or even a scream-filled hay ride through fields of zombies. Whatever Halloween means to your family, you can make it a ride at one (or more) of these vehicular annual haunts. After all, the family that hunts down armies of zombies together stays together.

The Pumpkin Patch is located just behind the train station, and admission is free, but the County of Orange charges a gate entrance fee ($5) to drive into Irvine Regional Park.

Zombie Hunter Train
Weekends October 7 - 29, 2017
$45-$55; Ride only $25
351 Santa Clara Street
Fillmore, CA 93015
800.773.8724
If you've done a wholesome, moderately spooky Halloween train ride at Fillmore and Western in the past, you can get that one right out of your head; the Zombie Hunter ride is just what it sounds like. Board the train, grab a paintball gun, and be prepared to gun down zombies for 90 minutes. Snacks and – wait for it – Bloody Marys are available on board. Children must be at least 10 years old to fire the paintball guns. Younger kids can ride without firing, but, honestly, anyone younger would probably be happier on the Pumpkinliner instead.

Pumpkinliner
Every Sat & Sun in October beginning October 7, 2017
Adults $22; Children (ages 4-12) $15, (ages 2-3) $10, Infants in lap free
Another offering by Fillmore and Western each October is the Pumpkinliner, a daytime family ride on a vintage train to the railway's own pumpkin patch. There's nothing spooky about this ride at all - just a family outing on a Halloween-themed train to a pumpkin patch that feels wonderfully far from town.

Haunted Hayride Family Dinner Train
October 21, 2017
Adults $62; Children (ages 4-12) $45; (ages 2-3) $30; infants in lap free
With a creep factor somewhere between the Zombie Hunter and the Pumpkinliner, this final offering in Fillmore's terror train trifecta offers a BBQ dinner en route to the pumpkin patch, where families hop onto mildly haunted hayrides for an evening of Halloween fun.

Peanuts: The Great Pumpkin Patch Express
October 14-15, 21-22, & 28-29, 2017
Adults $25; Kids (ages 2-11) $15
Linus is basing his search for the most sincere pumpkin patch at Orange Empire Railway Museum this year. The good news is your kids are guaranteed to find it on this train, and once they do they can join the whole Peanuts gang for photos, pumpkins, a maze, a hay ride, and plenty of other Halloween fun.

Halloween Train Spookular Night Ride
October 27-28, 2017
Advance $5; Door $7
For two nights only, the train folks at Southern California Light Steamers in Torrance gussy up their railway for the holiday. The spook factor is mild and appropriate for pretty much anyone who fancies a Halloween trip through Wilson Park on a model train.

Los Angeles Haunted Hayride
$35 and up
Thu-Sun (+ one Wed & Tues) October 6-31, 2017
Griffith Park (Old Zoo)
4730 Crystal Springs Ave.
LA, CA 90027
​310.993.8289
This is not your mama's hayride. The Haunted Hayride, a vehicular source of thrills and chills not for the faint of heart, causes adult screams through Griffith Park each year. This is an event best shared with teens and no one younger – but boy will your teens think you're cool. If you have kids of different ages, the Halloween carnival set up at the ride's starting point offers options for family members not ready to be scared witless.

​Queen Mary's Dark Harbor
Thu-Sun (and the occasional Wed and Tue), September 28 - November 1, 2017
$20 and up (best prices are online)
1126 Queens Hwy
Long Beach, CA 90802
562.435.3511
The motion here is only side to side - or perhaps straight down to the ocean floor depending on which maze you're in. There is no young kids' version of this haunt, but kids 12 or older who like to be scared will love braving the ghosts and zombies of the deep with their cool, slightly freaked-out parents. The historic, purportedly haunted Queen Mary hosts this Halloween Terrorfest on board ship in its Long Beach port, featuring several spooky mazes that wind their way through the hull and bowels of the ship. There is even an add-on tour through the art deco cruise liner's most famously ghost-infested sections. More mazes and fun spill over into the area around the ship, including the adjacent event dome, with oodles of food and drink options, too. Costumes are not permitted.

​Ghost Train
Fri-Sun (plus Mon-Tue Oct 30-31), October 13-31, 2017
$20
Griffith Park
5202 Zoo Drive
LA, CA 90027
323.661.8958
The popular Griffith Park Ghost Train is back! The small scale ride-on trains take a terrifying trek through a Halloween wonderland. The ride lasts a good 15-20 minutes through an impressive variety of Halloween landscapes, covering every spooky theme imaginable. Note that riders are never threatened, and there are no actors jumping out. The decorations and sound effects get creepy in spots, but the target audience is clearly under 10, and we saw plenty of three and four-year-olds having a grand time. That said, we also saw older kids totally happy to participate in this family outing. The Ghost Train has become a very popular event, so expect a wait, especially as Halloween draws near. You might want to consider showing up early and having a picnic dinner in line while waiting, or alternatively showing up towards the end of the night, (say 9:30 or later), particularly on Sundays.